A Brilliant Idea, Independent of Government

The most innovative idea for Katrina recovery from Hugh Hewitt reminds me of what  Shoshanna Zuboff envisioned in The Support Economy.

Hewitt's article entitled Rebuilding the Gulf Coast, One Group at a Time at the Weekly Standard says the only way to rebuild the societies battered by Katrina is getting specialized groups find each other using the internet.

With this disaster, America confronts for the first time the daunting reconstruction of complex social and political organizations.
It is a task which may be beyond the ability of the local, state, and federal governments to manage. How, for example, does a government--at any level--presume to assist a shattered church in the reconstruction of its walls and its Sunday School programs, an Alcoholics Anonymous chapter in the care of its members, a community theater in the reconstruction of its playhouse, or scores and scores of high school athletes in the completion -of their senior year schedules so that colleges and universities can offer talented kids a chance at a free education?
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The only way such a multitude of specialized needs can be met is for the vast, vast numbers of their counterparts across the United States to act--independently of government--to come to their aid in a reconstruction effort.

THIS SORT OF SYSTEM is common in small-scale disasters where neighbors know what needs to be done and simply do it. Using the internet, that same generous impulse can be channeled on a large scale.

He expands on the idea at his blog.

Example: A family fo five with no job to return to and an apartment that's been gutted. They have family in Atlanta. They are willing to make a go of it there. The colonel tells the soldier "Relocate these people to Atlanta, to a two bedroom apartment at a reasonable rent. Pay first and last and for the four months in between. Pay for some furniture and some clothes. And try and find a local church to "adopt" the family."


This is the boat people model, on fiscal steroids. It requires judgment, not rules. And it takes cash money and credit cards.


Just do it. The prospect of American refugee camps and the costs/miseries/dysfunctions of such places cannot be allowed to just evolve for want of a plan. If there are 100,000 displaced folks flat o their backs, that's about 25,000 individual relief plans and relocation efforts. Not easy, but much less costly to move quickly to relocate in this fashion than for an ad hoc relief agency to assemble and slowly --ever so slowly-- come up with blueprints and rules, plans and codes of conduct. Mistakes will be made and money wasted. But it is a far, far better approach than the drift that led to the Superdome and Convention Center crises.

This makes so much sense.  It's faster, cheaper and more efficient.  And it  gets people making new personal connections across the country, working together to create a better future, knitting new bonds and uniting the country one person at a time.

After Hugh's first idea to set aside a Blogburst for Katrina day, N.Z Bear  took the challenge and organized the sign up of blogs from 20 countries, (blog burst now extended through the weekend), is going to kick-start Hugh's idea as he explains in his blog relief update.

Zuboff and Maxim argue that corporations are not meeting the deep needs of their clients and those who can figure out how to do so using technology in what The Support Economy calls "federated networks." will succeed and be part of the next great episode of wealth creation.

Government is failing in the same way corporations are.  They can't meet the needs of individuals aside from providing tools  - money, grants and other resources.    Hewitt's idea of specialized groups finding each other using the internet has a touch of grace about it.

The Internet is a marketplace connecting people.  The marketplace is conversations.  It's people finding just what they need from other people who share the same interests.  People joining other people in groups to reach a common goal.  The Internet is only the means.  Blogs and other social networking tools are only the tools.    In the end it's all about people.  It's people who are the agents of grace.  They want with their whole hearts to do something good and important.  People who have lost everything need so much.  But they still can give purpose and meaning to those who have so much.

Here's the link to  "The Support Economy: Why Corporations Are Failing Individuals and The Next Episode of Capitalism" (Shoshana  Zuboff, James  Maxmin)-----

I'm blogging at Business of Life for the Blogburst for Katrina .  My preferred charity is the American Red Cross where you can donate and volunteer. 

UPDATE:  It's beginning.

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